Fall has finally arrived. For many this is a busy time at home, at work and especially in the garden where there are crops to harvest, prepare and preserve; seeds to save; weeds to pull; debris to collect and compost; cover crops to plant and the list goes on. To help you save time, money and space, USDA’s People’s Garden Initiative has invited experts to share advice in its 2011 Fall Webinar Series.

Master the Art of Home Canning, Seed Saving, Bee Keeping, SNAP Gardening and Season Extension

A series of five hour-long trainings will broadcast live on Wed. Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26 and Nov. 2 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. They are free for anyone to watch online. To join the training, register at www.extension.iastate.edu/broadcasts/emg/.

2011 Fall Webinar Series

Wednesday, October 5Webinar: The Basics of Home Canning with Elizabeth Andress, Ph.D., food safety specialist with Georgia Cooperative Extension and Professor in the Department of Foods and Nutrition.

Learn the basics of canning fruits and vegetables from your garden, as well as USDA recommendations for canning pickles and sweet spreads. Make sure you are safe from botulism and other risks when you preserve food, and learn best practices for high quality preserves.

Did you know that you can use SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps) benefits to help plant a garden? This session will provide ideas for how garden-minded professionals and amateurs alike can spread awareness and connect SNAP recipients to resources and information that will enable productive gardening experiences for all.

Wednesday, November 2Webinar: Extending the Growing Season Using High Tunnels and Hoop Houses with Ron Cordsiemon, Missouri Plant Materials Center Manager for USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service in Elsberry, Missouri

High tunnels and hoop houses can be used to increase the growing season of a variety of plants. This session will cover the different types of structures used and the time and expense involved for construction. This session also will look at the potential for increased production among different types of vegetables.

I registered for the above webinars, and have not received an email to allow me into the webinar. How does one get in???? Why advertise it and not allow anyone in. There are several of us from West Virginia that have not received the confirmation emails. What’s going on??? I’ve registered twice now. Do I need to continue to register until I get a response? Thank you for any assistance! I’ve also left messages via telephone as all lines were busy.

I received the confirmation email and followed the link, but nothing loaded. And I can’t find the archive link that is supposed to be available for a week after the original webinar. And I couldn’t find a reply-to email for technical support. I can’t wait to see the webinars! Help me get to them. Thank you!

For all that have registered, a confirmation email will be sent out the morning of the session. Please make sure to check that your email is typed correctly. Whether pre-registered or not the sessions air live at 12 noon EDT at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/broadcasts/emg/. The page changes from registration to airing the sessions at about 11:55 a.m. You may need to refresh the page to view the session at 12 noon EDT.

I got the email this morning, I got to press the play arrow, but apparently this was live as Like Many of The DC AG Broadcasts – you hear 2.5 words then have a 50 second lapse of blank air then get another few sylables and so on.
Like the other responders I went in to look at last weeks canning session – no link. How will we know when you get the tape finished and that it is available for viewing????

I have been going on Wednesday to the Wes Watkins Agricultural Research Center at Lane, Oklahoma viewing this series. I am finding it wonderful with information for beginning or master caner. I am having a incubator/caner going in at the Wes Watkins Ag Research Center in Lane, Oklahoma. Thank you for this series.

I have registered for these webinars, but was unable to make it to either one due to scheduling conflicts. And I’ve read the comments above, but where are the videos posted after they’ve aired? Neither one is currently on either of the webpages.

Would love to watch the canning video. I love the fact that you are making them closed caption, but instead of making the rest of us wait several weeks, could you not post them not closed caption until you can get the captioning done? Please let me know when I can learn how to can. Thanks.

I too need to watch a webinar or two for my Master Gardener education hours……..was wondering when these videos will be online to watch… sometime in the next couple weeks? would you please let me know, so I can schedule some time to watch them. Thank you.